A free classroom dashboard combining a timer, name picker, noise meter, group maker, instructions panel, and scoreboard on one projectable screen.
Screens and their contents are saved in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent to a server, and no account is needed.
Yes: the Chalkbox Classroom Dashboard above puts a timer, name picker and noise meter on one free page. At Chalkbox, we build practical classroom utilities so teachers can run their rooms without opening five browser tabs or paying for software subscriptions.
Set up your first screen in five steps:
All content saves to your browser as you type. If you close your browser tab after school and reopen this address tomorrow morning, your widgets, class lists, instructions, timer lengths and scores stay as you left them.
The dashboard puts five standalone Chalkbox tools and an instructions panel on one screen. Each widget retains the core settings of its individual counterpart while sharing layout space on the projector.
| Widget | What It Does | Details | Saved in Your Browser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructions | Shows a large editable text panel | For warm-ups, task prompts, material lists or daily objectives | The instruction text |
| Timer | Runs a visible countdown | One-tap presets from 1 to 20 minutes, custom minutes, draining progress bar, end chime | The timer length |
| Name Picker | Draws random names from your custom roster | For cold calling, reading turns or task assignments | Student roster and the "remove after picking" setting |
| Group Maker | Splits your class list into random groups | By group size or by number of groups | Student roster and group size |
| Noise Meter | Shows real-time room volume using your microphone | Relative 0 to 100 visual meter | Sensitivity and threshold settings |
| Scoreboard | Tracks points for 2 to 8 teams | Simple plus and minus tally buttons | Team names and current point totals |
Selecting the right combination of widgets keeps instructions clear without cluttering the screen. If your lesson only requires pacing and calling on students, toggle on just the classroom timer and the random name picker. When you transition to a collaborative activity, toggle on the group generator and the noise meter to handle logistics in one place.
Different class periods have different rosters, pacing needs, and daily routines. The screen manager lets you create and maintain dedicated workspaces so you do not need to retype student rosters or change prompts between bells.
Every first-time visitor starts with a default workspace named "My classroom," which displays the instructions panel, timer, name picker, and noise meter. You can rename this screen at any time with the Rename button. To prepare for an upcoming block, add a new screen and name it for the subject or period, such as "Algebra 1" or "Earth Science."
Each named screen acts as an independent container. It preserves both the visual arrangement of widgets and the text inside them. For example, your "Period 1" screen can hold twenty-eight student names and a five-minute warm-up prompt. Your "Period 2" screen can hold twenty-four different names and a ten-minute journal reflection. Switching between them takes one selection from the dropdown menu.
You can create as many screens as your daily schedule demands. If you no longer teach a specific group or need to clear out an old activity, select it in the dropdown and click Delete. Deleting a screen also erases the class lists, scores and other contents saved on it. The dashboard keeps at least one screen at all times.
With one saved screen per routine, you do not switch browser windows in the middle of a lesson. Three routines fit the dashboard well.
The opening five minutes of class set the tone for the entire period. Set up a screen containing the instructions widget and the timer to direct students to work the moment they cross the doorway.
Write explicit directions in the instructions panel: the required notebook page, materials to place on the desk, and two practice problems to complete immediately. Set the countdown timer to four or five minutes and start it as the bell rings. Because the prompt and the countdown sit side by side, students know what to do and how much time they have to finish without asking repetitive logistical questions. For a homeroom block, the same instructions-and-timer screen can keep the sharing time from our morning meeting ideas on a visible schedule.
Group work often stumbles during the transition phase when students argue over partners or create excessive noise during station moves. Put the group maker, the timer, and the noise meter on one screen to handle that transition.
Paste your class list into the group maker, choose your preferred group size, and click Make groups so the groups show on the screen. Start the timer for your twenty-minute collaborative task. Below or beside the timer, activate the noise meter. The noise meter shows room volume as a bar or traffic light, so students see the warning before you have to say anything. For more routines built on visible cues, see our classroom management strategies.
Review sessions require pacing, fair selection of respondents, and transparent scorekeeping. Build a dedicated review screen that pairs the name picker, timer, and classroom scoreboard.
Set up between two and eight teams on the scoreboard. When asking a question, use the name picker with the "remove after picking" option enabled so every student remains accountable for answering. On the dashboard, picked names leave the saved class list, so paste the full list back in after the game. Set a one-minute timer for each question to keep responses brisk. Award points directly on the scoreboard with a single tap. Students can watch the clock, track their team totals, and see that participation turns are selected impartially.
Teachers looking for a projectable board often look at ClassroomScreen. ClassroomScreen is a separate product from a different company, and Chalkbox is not affiliated with it. For an in-depth breakdown of features, trade-offs, and pricing structures across various dashboard tools, read our detailed guide on ClassroomScreen alternatives.
Chalkbox takes a minimal, focused approach to classroom display. Our dashboard deliberately excludes background photos, custom themes, drawing canvases, QR code generators, live polling modules, and a traffic-light work-symbol widget. Instead, it offers six widgets with no paid tier. If your lessons need drawing on the screen or polls from student phones, the Chalkbox dashboard will not cover them, so start from the alternatives guide linked above. If you need a free board that saves class lists and timer lengths in your browser without an account, the Chalkbox dashboard covers that.
This dashboard functions entirely on client-side technology. Knowing how your data is stored helps prevent accidental loss of your screen setups.
All text, team lists, timer settings, and layouts save directly to your web browser's local storage database on that physical computer. Nothing you type into the dashboard is sent to a server or saved in the cloud. The noise meter evaluates microphone volume locally in the browser to calculate a relative sound level from 0 to 100. No audio is recorded or sent anywhere.
Because the dashboard does not use accounts or cloud servers, data does not sync across computers. A screen created on your home laptop will not appear on your classroom desktop. You must set up your class screens on the specific computer connected to your classroom projector.
Clearing your browsing data, resetting site data, or running your browser in private browsing mode will wipe your saved screens. If your school district uses centralized profiles that wipe local computer data overnight, you may need to repaste your class rosters periodically. For daily stability, keep the dashboard open in a standard browser profile on your presentation computer.
Select your first widgets in the dashboard above, name the screen for your next class, and press Fullscreen.
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Yes. Chalkbox provides a free classroom dashboard containing a timer, name picker, noise meter, group maker, instructions panel, and scoreboard on one screen without requiring an account.
No. Everything saves automatically to local storage in your web browser on that specific device, so your screens remain intact without a login or password.
No. Your layouts and tool data stay stored only in the browser of the computer where you entered them, meaning they do not sync across devices or browsers.
Yes. You can display and run the noise meter alongside the timer on the same board, letting students monitor both work volume and remaining time at once.
No. The Chalkbox Classroom Dashboard is built by Chalkbox and is not affiliated with ClassroomScreen, which is a separate product from a different company.